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Several airports, including Los Angeles International, Philadelphia International and John F. Kennedy, reported delays during the weekend as the Federal Aviation Administration implemented staffing furloughs at airports across the U.S. However, flights in some airports such as Newark Liberty International Airport experienced minimal delays. "Relatively good weather throughout the country and light traffic helped minimize air traffic delays," said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the FAA.

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Southwest CEO Gary Kelly spoke to CNBC about the delays imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration as a result of controller furloughs and the Airlines for America lawsuit. He noted that there are legal opinions that say the FAA has a lot of discretion on how it applies its cuts and that air traffic controllers are essential. Kelly also said that we run the risk of harming the economy and that airlines and their customers pay more in taxes than we get in services from the FAA. "So perhaps if we're going to have a furlough of the services, maybe we ought to have a furlough in the taxes that the American people pay also," he said.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is questioning the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to furlough air-traffic controllers. "If for some reason the president or FAA don't believe they have the flexibility to address this issue, they should ask Congress for the flexibility they need," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "Until then, however, they should use the flexibility we all know they do have to ease the burden on passengers."

The White House said flight delays stemming from the furloughs of air traffic controllers could have been avoided if Congress had reached an agreement to avert the sequester. "This is a result of sequester that is never meant to be law," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. "And it was never meant to be law because of consequences like this." Meanwhile, the airlines launched the "Don't Ground America" campaign urging citizens to send a message telling Congress and the administration that they oppose FAA-imposed flight delays.

Several airports, including Los Angeles International, Philadelphia International and John F. Kennedy, reported delays during the weekend as the Federal Aviation Administration implemented staffing furloughs at airports across the U.S. However, flights in some airports such as Newark Liberty International Airport experienced minimal delays. "Relatively good weather throughout the country and light traffic helped minimize air traffic delays," said Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the FAA.

The union representing American Airlines pilots has proposed limiting flight hours and early-retirement incentives as part of an effort to limit furloughs. American has offer up to 4 1/2 months of severance and says it needs to shed 200 pilot jobs. American will assess the union's plan, a spokeswoman said.